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Contents

Passage History

National Firearms Program
Implementation Bill 1998

Date Introduce d: 27 May 1998

House: House of Representatives

Portfolio: Attorney-General

Commencement: On Royal Assent

Purpose

To provide compensation for certain firearms surrendered in the Territories
of Norfolk Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island .

Background

In April 1996, 35 people were killed and others wounded in Port Arthur,
Tasmania by a lone gunman, Martin Bryant. In May 1996, a meeting of
Commonwealth, State and Territory Police Ministers was convened. At
that meeting agreement was reached on a national scheme for firearms
ownership, use and storage in Australia. Among other things, the Police
Ministers agreed that there should be restrictions on the importation,
ownership, sale, resale, transfer, possession, manufacture and use of
self-loading centrefire rifles, self-loading and pump-action shotguns
and self-loading rim-fire rifles.(1) Agreement was also reached on a
licensing and registration scheme for firearms in accordance with national
standards.

Further elements of the agreement were an amnesty
period(2) and buyback scheme to encourage firearms owners and dealers
to surrender prohibited weapons. It was also agreed that the Commonwealth
would meet the costs of compensation and fund the States and mainland
Territories for establishing and administering the buyback scheme and
implementing licensing and registration systems.(3)

In the period following the May 1996 Police Ministers
Meeting, the Commonwealth, the States and the Territories introduced
legislation responding to the firearms agreement. Commonwealth statutes
included the Medicare
Levy Amendment Act 1996 and the National Firearms Program Implementation Act 1996. The former
statute increased the rate of the Medicare levy for the 1996-97 financial
year in order to fund the firearms buy-back scheme. It was estimated
that the levy would raise about $500 million.

The National Firearms Program Implementation Act 1996 appropriated
money from Consolidated Revenue and empowered the Attorney-General to
authorise payments to the States(4) for the purpose of providing compensation
to firearms owners and dealers under schemes established to implement
the national firearms program. The Act also enabled the Attorney-General
to authorise other payments to the States for purposes connected to
the national firearms program.

The National Firearms Program Implementation Act 1997 (Cth) extended
compensation to certain automatic weapons not covered by the May 1996
Police Ministers Agreement. These weapons included sub-machine guns
and heavy machine guns. The buyback scheme had revealed the existence
of such weapons in the community. The 1997 Act empowered the Attorney-General
to reimburse the States and Territories where they had paid compensation
for such surrendered weapons consistent with the spirit of the national
gun buyback scheme.

As at 20 May 1998, a total of 643,674 firearms had been surrendered
in mainland Australia and $319,398,716 paid in compensation.

The National Firearms Program Implementation Bill 1998 relates to
Norfolk Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island.
These islands are among Australia’s external territories. Cocos (Keeling)
Islands and Christmas Island are located in the Indian Ocean. Norfolk
Island is 1,676 kilometres north-east of Sydney.

Main
Provisions

Clause 3 also defines ‘qualifying compensation.’ ‘Qualifying
compensation’ is compensation which is paid under a compensation scheme
approved by the Attorney-General where compensation is paid for the
surrender of property during an amnesty period or for loss of business
during the amnesty period. The compensation must relate to self-loading
rifles, self-loading shotguns or pump-action shotguns or to firearms
whose surrender is consistent with the spirit of the national firearms
program.

Clause 4 provides that the Attorney-General may notify an amnesty
period for a Territory in the Gazette .

Subclauses 5(1) & 5(2) provide that the Attorney-General
can authorise payments of qualifying compensation, reimbursements or
advances to a Territory. Subclause 5(3) provides for the repayment by a Territory of
any excess amounts of qualifying compensation. Over-payments are recoverable
as debts due to the Commonwealth [ subclause 5(4) ].

Subclause 6(1) provides that the Attorney-General can authorise
other payments to a Territory connected with the implementation of the
national firearms program. Subclause 6(2) provides that total payments to the Territories
cannot exceed the amount stipulated in subsection 5(2) of the National Firearms Program Implementation Act 1996 .

4. The legislation
defines ‘States’ to include the Northern Territory and the Australian
Capital Territory.

Contact Officer

Jennifer Norberry

2 June 1998

Bills Digest Service

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